Day Traders Diary

5/15/20

The major averages finished in the green, but capped the week with significant losses due to a slew of somber economic reports and increasing tensions between China and the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced just 60 points, or 0.25%, to 23,685 ending the week lower by 2.65%. Earlier in the day, the 30-stock average dropped more than 270 points marking the second straight day for a sharp reversal. The S&P 500 finished up 11 points or 0.39% at 2,863 while the Nasdaq added 70 points or 0.79% to close at 9,014. For the week, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 were down 1.1% and 2.2%, respectively, with the latter notching its worst week since March.

The major averages clawed back their losses throughout the afternoon as retail stocks turned around despite a record decline in monthly retail sales. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) rose 2% after sliding more than 1.4% earlier in the session. Best Buy, Kohl's and Nordstrom rose. Walmart and Home Depot each advanced 2%.

The Trump administration moved to block semiconductor shipments to China's Huawei Technologies. With relations already strained due to the coronavirus outbreak, the move renewed worries about potential Chinese retaliations. China later in the day said they may retailiate by adding US companies including chips stocks like Qualcomm to the "unreliable entity list". The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index declined 2.2%, which included Applied Materials down 4% on earnings. DraftKings was a standout up 15% after the sports betting company topped earnings estimates and provided positive commetary on their outlook. 

Oil prices capped a strong week with another solid performance. WTI crude futures rose 7.1%, or $1.94, to $29.38/bbl today to extend its weekly advance to 18.8%.